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Fiat Punto Scheduled for launch in May 2005
Fiat's third-generation Punto is scheduled for launch in May 2005, and early prototypes are already out testing near the company's HQ in Turin. Punto Mk 3 will share its platform with the next-generation Vauxhall/Opel Corsa, and will be larger and roomier than the current model. Expect much-improved refinement and ride comfort, and sharper driving dynamics, as well as an engine line-up including a full quota of Multijet diesel engines. The styling is likely to be less angular than that of the Stilo, which has not lived up to sales expectations; we predict a softer, more elegant outline with curved, rather than slab-like, headlights.
The new Punto is to be built at Fiat's factories in Melfi and Termini Imerese, Sicily, which has prompted fears that the Miafiori plant is to be shut down when production of the current range ends next spring. Whether this happens or not, one thing is certain: there have been no blank cheques signed for the development of this new model, and the costs of the programme, prototype build and tooling up for production will have to be carefully contained.